Chamber
by allwaswell23
Summary: One of the many possibilities of what will happen when movie Ron and Hermione enter the Chamber of Secrets in DH part 2.


This was it, and even though her strength wavered, she wanted it. Hermione looked back at Ron once more, hoping for that final burst of confidence that only he could give her. He nodded his head toward her. Just before Hermione could plunge the fang into the cup it erupted to the ceiling with a wall of water rolling high above them, traveling upward at a deadly pace. It produced a roaring so loud that their ears immediately stung. The force of the angry water knocked both she and Ron back several feet. The pair instinctively raised their hands to their faces, shielding their eyes from the violent mist that sprayed them, getting them wetter and wetter with each passing second. The fang Hermione held dropped to the ground, unheard over the voice in the windstorm before them. **"I KNOW WHAT IS IN YOUR THOUGHTS, HERMIONE GRANGER AND YOU ARE CORRECT. YOU ARE ALWAYS CORRECT."**

Suddenly, as if a muggle movie projector turned on, a vision appeared before them. Hermione heard their voices before she was able to see them; her parents, although they were somehow different, fluid and shiny, as if part of the enchanted water.

**"_How could you_?" **Hermione's father spat angrily, his voice booming and echoing throughout the chamber's walls. **"_What a pathetic daughter you are. How could you abandon your mother and I? You make me sick._"**

Hermione's mother spoke in a voice beyond melancholy. It was a broken voice, **"_I don't understand. What did we do to deserve this treatment from you? I just…don't understand."_**

Hermione thought she might collapse onto the hard concrete. She took a step away from the horcrux, lifting a quivering hand to her mouth. She was barely able to register Ron's voice next to her, struggling to be heard. "No, no, Hermione!"

Her mother continued, her voice effortlessly projected. **"_You won't be able fix this. How can you possibly know what you're doing?"_**

**"_Don't bother!"_ **Her father cut in. **"_Just leave us alone. I'd rather enjoy someone else's comfortable life, than see you return and kill us!"_**

Ron roughly grabbed Hermione's shoulders, forcing her to face him. He turned away from the cup to shield her from the water, which was slapping like tiny pinpricks along his back. Her eyes were filled with confusion and hurt, and staring somewhere far beyond Ron in front of her. His hand clamped her chin, until their eyes met. He had to scream to be heard above the water. "That is _not_ true! They would never think that! It's trying to get to you!" Hermione lifted her fingertips to her temples, attempting to sort through her emotions. Ron knew from experience that Riddle's presentation was coming directly from Hermione's head and no matter how much logic told her to fight against it, the image was painful to absorb and feels very, very real. "I promise you, Hermione!" Ron added. She nodded slowly, looking up at him, seemingly gaining back some focus on the job ahead. Ron nodded in return but stopped as he saw her face fall at whatever was brewing behind him. He quickly turned to see a giant, watery, shiny version of himself emerge. "Shit. Shit, shit." He muttered.

He immediately turned back to Hermione, grasping her shoulders once more. "Nothing it will say is true! Nothing, I promise, okay? Nothing…" Suddenly, an arm-like wave protruded and knocked Ron away from Hermione, sending him skimming along the waterlogged concrete.

Riddle-Ron's voice rang out clear and calm but at a deafening level, **"_Look at you. You think I'm sorry I left you? There's a reason I left you, Hermione, and you already know what it is._" **Hermione dropped to her knees, transfixed on the image before her. Her fingertips limply grazed the wet floor, no longer attempting to shield her face from the spray.

In the corner, Ron struggled to find his footing as he attempted to fight his way back to Hermione, scooping up the basilisk fang along the way. "I'm right here! I'm right here and it's not true!" He screamed desperately.

Although impossible to tell, Hermione's eyes were dripping with tears. Riddle-Ron continued, **_"I was happy to be rid of you. Only came back because of Harry_."**

"I came back for you!" Ron screamed as he finally reached her side again.

**"_Don't you get it? We asked you along because we needed you to work out the hard stuff. That's it, that's what we used you for. If I wanted you as a lover I would have had you already. I would have never left. You're too plain for me, not beautiful like Lavender. I could never love you, what bloke could?_"**

"It's lying! Hermione, please!" Ron watched as her face crumpled and her body went weak, as if she might faint. He pressed himself into her, supporting her weight. He felt his own hot tears trailing down his numb face. He pushed his lips against her ear, his voice desperate. "It's not true, Hermione. I need you to finish it, now. You don't deserve this." For a moment it seemed as if her heartache had locked her into a trance that might hold her forever. "Look at me?" Ron asked into her ear. To his relief, her brown eyes met his and she seemed to process something in her mind. She grabbed the fang from his hand and crawled toward the cup, which was still shaking violently beneath the wall of water.

Ron watched as Hermione's hair whipped madly around her face. She lifted and swung the fang down like a dagger and was able to cut through the water as if it weren't even there. With one swift blow, the cup sparked, sending the wall of water in all directions before falling heavily to the ground. The force of it knocked her and Ron flat against the floor in an instant, as if someone had dumped a swimming pool on their heads. The expansive room fell silent.

At once, Ron began crawling toward Hermione despite his water-soaked lungs gagging for air. For one sickening moment he thought that she was choking. A horrible sound of struggle emerged from her shaking figure. But as he drew near he could see that she was sobbing, something very unlike herself.

"Hermione?" He tried, to no response. He pulled her into a sitting position and spoke again, "Mione?" Her voice cracked through her tears, echoing off the otherwise silent chamber. "…I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's me, it's just me." He managed. Hermione furiously wiped at her face, finally dropping it into her hands. Ron draped an arm over her shoulder and pulled her into him tightly.

"You weren't supposed to see that, Ron. Not…not now, not like that."

He did his best to hold her close even though he was still processing what had just happened himself. "I know. And I know what that did to you. The locket showed me stuff like that too. It showed me what I was most afraid of." Hermione quickly looked up to him. "But _nothing_ it said is even remotely true, okay? I don't believe it and you shouldn't either."

"I don't want to believe it, but I…"

Ron cut her off, "Just don't." Hermione stared far off to somewhere else. Ron continued on, "And, it's no excuse but I only… left you because of what that damn locket made me think. I missed you the moment I left you and I'll never forgive myself. I felt awful about leaving Harry but I couldn't live with myself for leaving you. I came back for you, Hermione."

She nodded again, still looking lost in thought. Ron leaned his head in toward her, nudging her. "And if we make it through this, we _will_ find your parents and they'll be put right. I'll make sure of it." Hermione's mouth turned up the tiniest amount at his promise.

After a short moment, Hermione stood up and offered him her hand. "We should get going," she said evenly, lifting Ron from the ground. She had yet to look Ron in the eye, clearly still disturbed over what the horcrux forced her to reveal about herself. She turned wordlessly but Ron squeezed her hand tighter, pulling her back to him. They were close enough to be hugging. Ron smoothed her wet hair away from her face and studied her. "You're beautiful, Hermione…so beautiful. I'm sorry I'm too big of a gutless wanker to have said it before but it's true. You are bloody beautiful."

Hermione's eyes glistened. She shook her head, "Ron, don't... You weren't supposed to see any of that."

Ron sighed a bit, trying to rethink his words. "I have to, Mione. I wanted to tell you at Bill's wedding and every day since, actually. I should have said it years ago but I was bloody young and stupid." He ran his fingers over her wet hair again. "I have to say it because I want you to feel it." He leaned in closer, inches from her face. He gulped so loudly he was sure she heard it. "I…I want to make you feel it."

Hermione felt her insides melting. She and Ron locked eyes for the briefest of moments. Ron leaned in a bit, his hand resting on her cheek. There was a moment where the world became entirely silent before Hermione bounced onto her toes and closed the distance between them, covering his lips with her own. Ron felt her fingers snake through the hair on the nape of his neck and he deepened the kiss. After a few seconds he pulled back and mirrored the grin he found waiting for him on Hermione's face. He lifted her off the ground into a giant hug and began covering her lips with several small kisses. Hermione pulled him close once more, kissing him as the last drops of water in the chamber fell to the ground around them.


End file.
